Posts Tagged ‘Market news’
BoE Rate Hike Expectations Climb Higher
GBP With the data calendar for the UK being extremely sparse last week, Sterling traded off the back of key data releases coming out of the US and Eurozone. GBP|EUR traded in a sideways direction for most of the week, bottoming out in the low 1.16’s and peaking at 1.1690, with 1.16 and 1.17 being…
Read MoreStrong Wage & Inflation Data Provide Support for Sterling amid Recession Concerns
GBP Wage growth and inflation data were both reported stronger than expected last week. The ONS reported “In April to June 2023, the annual growth for regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 7.8%. This is the highest annual growth rate since comparable records began in 2001.” Statista reported “UK inflation rate was 6.8 percent in July…
Read MoreTurbulent Week for the Pound Ahead
GBP Anticipation of more interest rate rises from the BoE surfaced last week, helping breathe some strength back into the Pound, which was much needed after a week of gloomy data releases around the UK economy. RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) reported that the outlook for the UK housing market is reaching levels not…
Read MoreIs the Rate Hike Cycle Finally Coming to an End?
GBP Sterling had been volatile anticipating the Bank of England’s rate hike decision last Thursday, with investors and speculators trying to guess the outcome. The BoE voted for another 0.25% increase in interest rates. This coupled with July’s negative PMI data, along with negative UK house price data sent the Pound falling against most of…
Read MoreWill Thursday’s Decision Provide Further Strength for Sterling?
GBP After falling to multi-month lows against the Euro after inflation data, Sterling has started to regain some ground, outperforming most G10 currencies last week. Most of the movement for GBP|EUR & GBP|USD was driven by factors on the other side of the pair rather than Sterling itself. However, this could change next week, depending…
Read MoreIs BoE’s Monetary Policy finally working?
GBP Following the release of UK inflation figures on Wednesday, Sterling dropped against all G10 currencies. Official inflation for June was confirmed at 7.90%, a 3.0% drop compared to market expectations and a 0.80% drop from last month’s figures. These figures are still way above the BoE’s target rate of 2%, however, is the drop…
Read MoreRecessions, Inflation & Rate Hikes
GBP Strong employment data saw Sterling take a jump at the back end of last week, bolstered by record wage growth and elevated rate hike bets. We’ve now seen 13 consecutive hikes, with rates being the highest since April 2008. Another hike seems more than likely on the BoE’s next decision on August 3rd. BoE…
Read MoreSterling was fairly resilient last week in response to poor data releases
STERLING There were some worrying signs for the health of the UK economy last week, where service PMI fell well short of expectations. The Chief Economist at Markit warned that the UK economy had iced up in March, suffering the weakest increase in business activity since the Brexit vote. However, he did note that disruptions…
Read MoreTheresa May is stepping up plans to tackle the Irish border question in Brexit talks
STERLING Sterling struggled to sustain any upward momentum last week despite some positive Brexit headlines. Over the weekend, the Financial Times said Prime Minister Theresa May was planning a customs partnership to unlock the Northern Ireland dilemma although we are yet to see anything concrete. PMI surveys could steal the spotlight this week, as investors…
Read MoreMarket News – Trump Talks Tariffs
STERLING Sterling strengthened last week amid a flurry of Brexit talk although concrete progress was difficult to find. Reports towards the end of the week said UK officials do not see a Brexit deal until next year. EU officials meanwhile signalled that they are not willing to negotiate on issues such as trade until progress…
Read More